Locking mechanism



y'7, 1957 E. M. GREER ETAL 2,791,455

LOCKING MECHANISM Filed April 5, 1954 a Sheds-Sheet 1 ATTO R N EYS E. M.GREER ETAL Y 2,791,455

LOCKING MECHANISM Filed A ril 5, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Edward MGreer JWaQSIYMQfiCJG/f dlilwfm ATTORNEYS y 7, 7 E. M. GREER ET AL2,791,455

LOCKING MECHANISM Filed April 5, 1954 a Shets-Sheet a 2 2 51 E E If v22) i Q 9 "iwENToR Ward M Greer ATTORNEYS 9 B aesjiMerciefi UnitedStates Patent fice Patented May 7,- 1957 2,791,455 LOCKING MECHANISMEdward M. Greer, Great Neck, and Jacques H. Mercier, New York, N. Y.,assignors to G. M. E. Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork 'Application. April 5, 1954, Serial No. 420,944

' 3 Claims. (Cl. 292-247 This" invention relates to the art of lockingmechanism and more particularly to latches useful for marine applicationsuch as on hatch covers.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention it is noted that wherea hatch cover or panel on a hatchway is retained in position by aconventional locking de- Vice of the type which includes a pivoted boltmounted on the deck of the ship, which is moved into engagement with ayoke mounted on the hatch cover and carries a nut that mustbe'tig-htene-d to lock the hatch cover, as each nut must be individuallyrotated as by a wrench and the bolt must be pivoted into or out ofengagement with the yoke to lock and unlock the hatch cover, the L nfabric'atedandw may be installed at relatively low cost,

and which, without the need for loosening of nuts and with but a singlesimple manipulation in one direction that may readily be'performed witha minimum of efiort, will dependably effect locking of a movable elementto a fixed element and. with a corresponding single manipulation in theopposite direction will effect unlocking of suchmovable element.

' According to the invention from its broader aspects, a fixed andmovable element mount complementary locking members including a hook anda pivotally mounted member carrying a resilient ring, preferably ofspring steel, designed to be moved into and out of engagement with saidhook. Meansare provided to rotate said pivotally mounted member betweenlocked and unlocked position, and means are also provided reactingagainst said ring to move the latter away from said hook when thepivotally mounted member is moved from locked to unlocked position andto move the ring to a position beneath said hook when the pivotallymounted member is moved from unlocked to locked position.

In'the accompanying drawings in which are. shown one or more of variouspossible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly in cross sectionof a hatch cover and associated latching mechanism in locked position,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of the latching mechanism in unlockedposition,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a detail side elevational view on an enlarged scale showingthe latching mechanism in unlocked position,

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of another embodimentef the latchingmechanism in locked position, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly in cross section ofa hatch cover and associated latching mechanism of the embodiment ofFig. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, in the embodiment shown in Fig. l, thehatchway 11 of the ship is closed by means of a hatch cover 14 which hasa skirt 15 there around depending from its top wall 16. Desinably, aresilient sealing strip ltt is secured to the lower edge of the skirt 15so that when the hatch cover is in the closed position shown, the strip18 will be compressed against the top surface of coaming 19 about thehatchway to provide a water tight seal.

in order to lock the hatch cover 14 in closed position with respect tothe hatchway, a plurality of locking devices 21 are provided. As suchlocking devices are identical, only one will be described in detail.

As shown in Fig. 1, the locking device comprises a bracket 22 having across piece 23 affixed to the undersuriace of the hatch cover as bywelding. Depending from cross piece 23 is a pair of spaced parallel arms24 and 25 between which a locking member 26 is positioned, pivotallymounted by means of a bolt 27 which extends through aligned openings inthe lower ends of said arms and in said locking member near its lowerend 28.

The locking member has a rearwardly extending arm 31 with a plate 32 atits upper end which, when member 26 is in locked position (Fig. 1), willrest against the undersurface of the top wall 16 of the hatch coverbeneath an opening 32 therein. The plate 32 desirably has a resilientsealing member 33 positioned in a groove 34 therein which will preventleakagethrough opening 32 into the hatchway when the cover 14 is locked.The plate 32 desirably has an opening 35 through which extends -a cable36 having a collar 37 atfixed to its lower end and a loop or handle 38at its upper end. To prevent leakage through opening 35, a seal 39,illustrativelya ball of resilient material, is desirably affixed tocable 36 and is normally retained over said opening by the weight of thecable and'the collar 37. Desirably a bar 41 is affixed to the cable36beneath handle 38 to retain the latter in accessible position above thecover 16 when the latch is in unlocked position. The cable 36 and theopening 32 serve to permit emergency manual locking and unlocking of thehatch cover in the manner hereinafter to be described.

The locking. member 26 near its front edge 42 has an opening 43 in whichis pivotally mounted the upper run 44 of a ring member 45 desirably ovalshaped and of resilient material such as spring steel.

The portion of the lower run 46 of ring 45 opposed to the pivotallymounted portion of the upper run is designed to be moved into and out oflocking engagement with a laterally extending hook 47 which is securedto an upright member illustratively a plate 48 mounted on the coaming19. As shown in Fig. 1, the hook 47 has a concave seat 50 in its lowersurface to be engaged by the lower run 46 of the ring so that it willremain in locked position The upper run 44 of ring 45 has a pair offingers 51 and 52 afllxed thereto, which straddle the arms 24 and 25 asshown in Fig. 3, the finger 52 being longer than the finger 51. Thefingers 51 and 52 coact respectively with pins 53 and 54 extendinglaterally outward from arms 24 and 25, the pin 54 being cylindrical andat a lower level than the pin 53 which has a cut away top portion as at55 so that it is substantially semi-circular in cross section.

The locking device is desirably normally actuated by a hydraulic unit 61comprising a cylinder 62 having a finger 63 at one end pivotallyconnected as at 64 to a bracket 65 aflixed to the undersurface of cover14 and i 3 depending therefrom. The piston rod 66 of hydraulic unit'61desirably has a yoke 67 affixed to its free end as at 68, the legs ofwhich straddle a finger 69 at the lower end of the locking member 26 andare pivotally connected thereto as by means of a pin 71.

To actuate the piston rod, for locking and unlocking of the hatch cover,a source of fiuidunder pressure may be connected in conventional mannerto either the ports 72 or 73 of the hydraulic unit on each siderespectively of its piston 74.

With the hatch cover in locked position, as shown in Fig. l, to unlockthe hatch cover, it is merely necessary to actuate the hydraulic unit 61by forcing fluid under pressure through port 73. As a result, the pistonrod 66 will be moved inwardly rotating the locking member 26 in aclockwise direction about its pivot 27 from the position shown inFig. 1. As the locking member rotates and the axis of the upper run 44of ring member 45 moves to the right toward the axis of pivot 27, thering member will be stretched slightly and as the upper run 44 movespast pivot 27, the tension on the ring 45 will be relieved.

Assuming that the upper run 44 of the ring member 45 rotates freely inopening 43, with further rotation of the locking member, the ring memberwill move downwardly, the lower run 46 thereof initially remainingdirectly below the seat 50 in hook 47.

As the upper run 44 of the ring moves from the position shown in Fig. 1,the shorter finger 51 carried by the upper run 44 will move past the cutaway portion 55 of pin 53 clearing such pin. At this time the longerfinger 52 carried by the upper run 44 of the ring 45 will abut againstthe pin 54 as shown in Fig. 4, and with further rotation of the lockingmember 26, this will cause the upper run 44 of ring 45 to pivot inopening 43 so that the lower run 46 of the ring will be moved outwardlyaway from the hook 47, such pivotal movement of the ring causing thefinger 51 to assume the position shown in Fig. 2, i. e. to the rear ofpin 53.

When the piston rod 66 has reached the limit of its stroke and thelocking member 26 is in the position shown in Fig. 4, the finger 52reacting against pin 54 will retain the lower run 46 of the ring inposition clear of the hook 47.

At this time the hatch cover is fully unlocked and may be removed inconventional manner.

To lock the hatch cover once it is positioned over the hatchway, it ismerely necessary to force fluid under pressure through port 72 of thehydraulic cylinder. As a result, the piston rod 66 will be movedoutwardly rotating the locking member 26 in a counterclockwise directionfrom the position shown in Fig. 2.

Initially the finger 52 will be moved away from pin 54 and as the upperrun 44 rotates freely in opening 43, as previously set forth, by reasonof the movement of the upper run in a counterclockwise direction and therotation of such upper run in opening 43, the finger 51 will pass overthe cut away portion 55 of pin 53.

With continued rotation of the locking member 26 the lower run 46 willmove under the seat 50 in hook 47 and when the axis of the upper run 44passes the axis of the pivot 27, the runs 44 and 46 of the ring 45 willbe pulled apart slightly so that the run '46 will be retained undertension in the seat 50. By reason of the resultant tension of the ring45 and the displacement of the axis of the pivot 27 to the right of theaxis of the upper run 44, as shown in Fig. 1, the locking member 26 willbe urged in a counterclockwise direction, the movement being restrainedby the abutment of the plate 32 at the upper end of the locking memberagainst the undersurface of the hatch cover. The displacement-of theaxes of pivot 27 and run 44 of the ring 45 will thus retain the ring 45in locked position. a

In the event that the upper run 44 should not rotate freely in opening43 due to rust, for example, or 'ifthe the latter with a mallet.

ship should be at a list, the finger 51 and pin 53 ensure that the lowerrun 46 of the ring will be'moved under the seat 50 in hook 47 forefiective locking action.

Thus, referring to Fig. 2, if the run 44 does not rotate freely inopening 43, as the locking member 26 is rotated in a counterclockwisedirection, the finger 51 will abut against pin 53 and cam therepas tcausing rotation of the upper run 44 of ring 45 in a counterclockwisedirection to move the lower run 46 beneath the seat 50 in hook 47, foreffective locking of the ring 45 in the manner prevoiusly described.

In the event that the hydraulic system should fail, the locking devicehas provisions for manual opening and closing thereof. Thus, with thelocking device in the closed position shown in Fig. 1 it may readily beopened by inserting a bar through the opening 32 in the hatch cover andeither pressing down on such bar or striking This will cause the lockingmember to pivot in a clockwise direction to open the locking device inthe manner previously described.

In the event that the locking device is in open position with thelocking member in the position shown in Fig. 2, the device may be closedby pulling on the handle end 38 of cable 36. As a result, the collar 37will abut against the undersurface of plate 32 pivoting the lockingmember in a counterclockwise direction to lock the device, also in themanner previously described.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the hatchway 81 is closed bymeans of a hatch cover 82 which has a skirt 83 therearound dependingfrom its top wall 84. Desirably a resilient sealing strip 85 is securedto the lower edge of the skirt 83 so that when the hatch cover is inclosed position with the lower edge of skirt 83 resting on the coaming86 of the hatchway 81, the strip 85 will press against the top surfaceof said coaming to provide a watertight seal.

To retain the hatch cover 82 in locked or closed position with respectto the hatchway, a plurality of locking devices 87 are provided, onlyone of which is shown.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the locking device comprises a bracket 87atfixed as by welding to the skirt 83 and extending outwardly therefrom.

Pivotally mounted on the free end 88 of bracket 87 is locking member 89preferably in the form of a yoke having a cross piece 91 and a pair ofparallel arms 92 and '93 extending therefrom and straddling the end 88of bracket 87. Desirably a bolt 94 extends through aligned openings inend 88 and arms 92, 93 pivotally to mount the locking member 89.

Extending through transversely aligned openings 95 in arms 92, 93 is theupper run 96 of a ring member 97 desirably oval shaped and of resilientmaterial such as spring steel.

The lower run 98 of ring 97 is designed to be moved into and out oflocking engagement with a laterally extending hook 99 aflixed at one endas by welding to the coaming 86 and extending laterally outwardtherefrom.

As shown in Fig. 6, the hook 99 has a concave seat 101 in its lowersurface so that the ring will remain in locked position.

Afi'ixed at one end' to the rear of arm 93, for example, oflockingmember 89 near its upper end and extending laterally outward therefrombetween the ring '97 and skirt 83 is a rod 102, the free end of whichextends beyond the ring as is-clearly shown in Fig.. 5. A bar 103 isaffixed at one end to the front of arm' 93 and also extends laterallyoutward therefrom in front of ring 97 and beyond the latter. Mounted onthe free end of bar 103 is a coil spring 104 which reacts against thering 97 and which is in compressed but slightly extended condition whenthe lower run 98 of the ring is beneath hook 99.

Although the locking member 89 may be pivoted in any suitable manner tolocked or unlocked position, in

106 or the like may be positioned to pivot the locking member.

When the device of Figs. 5 and 6 is in the locked position shown, theupper and lower runs of ring 97 will be stretched apart slightly so thatthe lower run 98 will be securely retained beneath the seat 101 in hook99. As the axis of the upper run 96 of ring 97 will be slightly to theleft of the axis 94 of the locking member 89, the tensed ring 97 willtend to rotate the locking member in a counterclockwise direction.However, as the surface 107 of the cross piece 91 of the locking member89 will abut against the undersurface 108 of bracket 87, movement of thelocking member will be restrained and it will remain in locked positionunder the tension of ring 97.

To open the hatch cover, a crowbar 106, for example, may be insertedinto recess 105 in the cross piece 91 of the locking member and liftedto rotate the locking member in a clockwise direction.

Assuming that the upper run 96 of ring 97 rotates freely in openings 95in the arms of the locking member 89, as the axis of run 96 moves towardthe axis of pivot 94, the ring will be stretched slightly. With furtherrotation of the locking member 89, the tension of ring 97 would berelieved and its lower run would be moved to a position below that shownin solid lines in Fig. 6, clear of the hook 99 and will remain beneaththe latter. However, when the locking member has been moved so that therod 102 abuts against the ring 97, further movement of the lockingmember to the position shown at 109 and 110 would cause the rod 102 toswing the ring outwardly clear of the hook.

The crowbar 106 is then removed from recess 105 and by reason of theweight of the rear portion 111 of the locking member, which serves as acounter-balance, the ring would remain in position clear of the hook andthe hatch cover can then be removed in conventional manner.

To lock the hatch cover after it is positioned on the coaming in theposition shown in Fig. 6, the locking member 89 is rotated in acounterclockwise direction from the position shown in dot and dashlines. Assuming that upper run 96 rotates freely in openings 95, whenthe pressure of rod 102 against the ring 97 is relieved, the ring willmove toward a vertical position with the lower run 98 beneath the hook99.

With continued rotation of the locking member, as the axis of the upperrun 96 passes the axis of pivot 94, the runs 96 and 98 of ring 97 willbe pulled apart slightly so that the run 98 will be maintained undertension in the seat 101. By reason of the resultant tension of ring 97and the displacement of the axis of the upper run 96 to the left of theaxis of the pivot 94, the locking member 89 will be urged in acounterclockwise direction, the movement being restrained by theabutment of the surface 107 of cross piece 91 against the undersurface108 of bracket 87. The displacement of the axes of pivot 94 and run 96will thus retain the ring 97 in locked position.

In the event that the upper run 96 would not rotate freely in opening 95or if the ship should be at a list, the lower run 98 might not movebeneath the hook 99 which would prevent locking of the ring. Thisdifiiculty, however, is avoided by the coil spring 104, which, as thelocking member is rotated, will react more and more strongly against thering 97 to pivot the latter in openings 95 so that the lower run 98 willbe moved beneath hook 99 regardless of the list of the ship or ofinitial freezing of the upper run in openings 95. The ring 97 willthereupon be securely locked in position, as previously described, byfurther movement of the locking member.

It is of course to be understood that the coil spring is merelyillustrative and any resilient means, such as a leaf spring could beused to react against the ring 97.

Furthermore, if desired, the locking member can be hydraulicallyoperated and could be positioned on the interior of the hatch cover.

With the equipment above described, by reason of the fact that only asimple movement of the locking member is required to lock or unlock thehatch cover, the operation may be performed rapidly and with a minimumof effort and dependable 'locking and unlocking of the cover is assuredwithout need for manual movement of the ring toward and away from thehook, regardless of rusting of the ring in its pivotal mount or oflisting of the ship.

It is of course to be understood that the locking device has many otherapplications other than for hatch covers, i. e., it could be used forbulkhead doors or for nonmarine applications and the examples hereindescribed are merely illustrative.

As many changes could be made in the above equipment, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Equipment for latching a movable element to a fixed elementcomprising a hook member affixed to one of said elements, a brackethaving a cross piece affixed to the other of said elements, said brackethaving a pair of spaced arms extending therefrom, a locking memberpivotally mounted on said bracket, and movable between locked andunlocked position, a ring member of resilient material having twoopposed runs, said locking member having an opening through which one ofthe runs of the ring member extends, pivotally mounting said ring memberand the other of said runs being movable into and out of lockingengagement with said hook member, said ring member being extendablealong a line from its pivotally mounted run to its opposed run, wherebywhen said hook member is engaged by said opposed run said ring memberwill be extended and the tension exerted thereby will restrain movementof said pivotally mounted member, a pair of fingers aifixed at one endto the run of the ring extending through the locking member andextending toward the other run, said fingers straddling said arms, oneof said fingers being shorter than the other, and a pair of pins affixedat one end to said arms respectively and extending outwardly therefrom,said pins being associated respectively with said fingers, the longerfinger being adapted to abut against its associated pin to pivot thehook engaging run of the ring away from said hook when the lockingmember is moved from locked to unlocked position and the shorter runbeing adapted to abut against its associated pin to pivot the hookengaging run toward said hook when the locking member is moved fromunlocked to locked position.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the pin associated withthe shorter finger has a cut away portion and said shorter finger isdesigned normally to clear said pin when the run of the ring extendingthrough the opening in the locking member rotates freely in saidopening.

3. Equipment for latching a movable element to a fixed elementcomprising a hook member afiixed to said fixed element, a bracketaffixed to the movable element, a locking member pivotally mounted onsaid bracket and movable between locked and unlocked position, a ringmember of resilient material having two opposed runs, one of said runsbeing pivotally mounted on said locking member and the other of saidruns being movable into and out of locking engagement with said hookmember, said ring member being extendable along a line from itspivotally mounted run to its opposed run, whereby when said hook memberis engaged by said opposed run, said ring member will be extended andthe tension exerted thereby willrestrain movement of said pivotallymounted locking member, said' locking member having a plate at its'freeend adapted to press against said movable element when the lockingmember is in locked position, said movable element having an open ingtherethrough providing access to said plate and means connected to saidplate extending through said opening to pivot the locking member fromunlocked to locked position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES. PATENTSHarvey a May 2, 1922 Garrigus Jan. 6, 1925 Perry Aug. 4, 1931 Baade May30, 1950 Paul Feb. 12, 1952

